1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates particularly to a module connecting mechanism for an electrophotograhic apparatus having a configuration in which a supplying module is separated from an engine module in a vertical direction.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, there has been used a laser beam printer (LBP) as a printer having an electrophotographic system, The variety of demands in regard to its use as the laser beam printer has spread, such as a demand for diversification of a supplying cassette. In other words, there is a demand for a laser beam printer having a configuration which satisfies not only a need of a user who wants to use a standard cassette having a large capacity, but also a need of another user who wants to use various cassettes even if each cassette has a small capacity. Accordingly in order to satisfy these demands, there is a growing tendency for printers to have a configuration in which each printer is divided into two types of modules, an engine module and a supplying module, so that a single engine module can be connected to several types of supplying modules.
In order to satisfy the needs of the market quickly, the above modules are independently delivered with exterior fittings, and then after being connected and packed in the nearest place to a customer, they are delivered again as a printer. The modules are connected to each other only by fastening with screws at the bottom of the printer or by mounting the engine module.
In the conventional configuration, however, the engine module has been connected to the supplying module only in the vertical direction. Therefore, there has been a problem that the modules may be disconnected or that the printer is deformed when a shock is applied to the engine module or the supplying module in a direction perpendicular to the connection during transportation after the connection is completed, due to a strong force applied in a direction of shifting a relative position of the supplying module to the engine module. In addition, if such a disconnection or a deformation of the device occurs, it may lead to a sheet jam or a degradation of the image quality. Therefore, it is required to improve these laser beam printers which need to have high reliability and high image quality.